Early in the documentary Boys State, a group of young men in a classroom listen to a discussion contrasting the predictions of Orwell and Huxley and the state of our democracy. These 17-year-old boys are engaged with the questions posed by the lecturer and are exited to be there at a week-long exercise in civic study.
“Boys State” is an annual ritual organized by the American Legion where they bring youngsters from across the state to participate in a process intended to simulate the various processes of political engagement. At first, the culture of this juvenile retreat may seem a bit bizarre - but it’s worth sticking around for the whole journey. Among the alumnus of this ritual are Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, and Samuel Alito.
The documentary (now on Apple TV+) focuses on a group of precocious, politically-minded kids from across the state of Texas. If you despair for the state of our democracy, this doc might offer some hope - a number of the kids, even several with whom you may have strong ideological disagreement - are impressive and inspirational.
Radar Pings
Although delayed by being temporarily out of stock, the Barnes & Noble 50% Off Criterion Sale netted me a copy of the glorious Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits box set. I’m going to savor this one at a gradual pace. Lee’s breakthrough performance in The Big Boss is one of moments where an actor’s presence and charisma just instantly pops and you know: this is a superstar.
So I’m still on a productivity kick, and the YouTube channel by Ali Abdaal is proving a treasure trove of information on apps and productivity methods.
Speaking of Ali’s suggestions, I’ve recently signed up for the Superhuman email service and it’s an extraordinary paradigm shift in email. I’ve tried Hey and Spark but now I think I’ve found my email home. Superhuman’s keyboard-centric, shortcut-reliant workflow takes some adjustment but allows you to be blazingly fast and undistracted.
Tweet of the Week
Comic Pulls of the Week
Displacement (original graphic novel)
G.I. Joe #7
Atlantis Wasn’t Built For Tourists #1
It Eats What Feeds It #2
Process Video Tease
I’ve got a writing process video in the works. It’s an in-depth look at my process for creating a single comic page. I cover the software I use, how my process has evolved into iterative steps, and all of the character/plot questions that arise on a given page.
Heller Promotional “Tour” continues…
This week, I’ve begun reaching out to retailers to promote my debut comic mini-series, and, although it’s quite time consuming, has been a rewarding experience. Thus far the feedback and support has been encouraging.
We received an excellent preview article over at the Comics Bookcase site, and the folks at Robots From Tomorrow included Heller in their monthly podcast highlighting upcoming books listed in the Previews Catalog.
Speaking of Previews…
Well, gosh, it’s official, I’ve got a book listed to be carried in real comic shops in just a few months. I picked up a physical copy of PREVIEWS and was overwhelmed to see something I’d written listed in there.